Notes and Essays -- John Brown

AI  [May 4] Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, particularly in the Black Sea city of Tuapse, have caused major fires and led to "black rain"—a toxic mix of oil, soot, and ash. This environmental crisis has damaged over 30 miles of coastline, coated homes in greasy residue, and left residents choking on fumes.    The Washington Post  +2 Key Aspects of the Crisis: Targeted Infrastructure: Ukraine is targeting oil facilities to cripple Russia's energy revenue, with the Tuapse refinery attacked multiple times in recent weeks.  The Washington Post  +2 Environmental Damage: The fires released heavy pollutants, causing "black rain" or oily residue to fall on nearby towns. Environmentalists consider this one of the region's worst disasters.   The Washington Post  +3 Health Hazards: Residents reported extreme air pollution, with authorities confirming high levels of carcinogens like benzene and xylene.   Yahoo  +1 Visible Impact:...

From The New York Times ; see  also; and also The Nord, anchored off Hong Kong in 2022. I n that year, the U.S. State Department publicly raised concerns after Hong Kong said it would not seize the vessel . Credit... Reuters Russia is one of Iran’s key allies. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met with Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, in Moscow on Monday to discuss Iran’s war with the United States and Israel. Mr. Mordashov, 60, is the chairman and main stakeholder of Severstal, one of Russia’s biggest steel makers. Shipping records show that the Nord is registered to Yurkon, a Russian firm that Mr. Mordashov’s wife, Marina A. Mordashova, owned for a brief period in 2022. Yurkon is registered in Cherepovets, a town north of Moscow that is home to Severstal’s main plant, according to the Russian corporate registry. The chief executive of Yurkon, which lists “rental and leasing of water transport equipment” as its main activity, is an individual linked to Severstal. Mr...

Updated 10:55 AM EDT, May 3, 2026, AP ; article contains a video and links KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Sunday launched a wave of strikes against Russian oil targets, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and two tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude.   A nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at Russia’s largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea, the port of Primorsk, according to Russian regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko. The port, operated by Russia’s state oil firm Transneft, is capable of handling hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. Primorsk, which was targeted multiple times in March, lies over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Ukraine, between the Russian-Finnish border and Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg. Local Gov. Drozdenko said that the drone strike did not cause an oil spill, but gave no immediate further comment regarding casualties or damage. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that ...

A Ukrainian soldier taking part in a training exercise in the Chernobyl exclusion zone this month. Ideas have been floated for how the contaminated zone could bring economic benefits to Ukraine. But for the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.   By Andrew E. Kramer and Evelina Riabenko Photographs by Brendan Hoffman Reporting from the Chernobyl exclusion zone  April 26, 2026  Vines twirl through the broken windows of long-abandoned homes, where the detritus of lives interrupted by disaster are still scattered about: children’s shoes, dishes, coats hanging on pegs, all covered in lichen and dust.   The ghost towns of the Chernobyl exclusion zone in northern Ukraine emptied of people after the catastrophic explosion and meltdown at the nuclear power plant there 40 years ago, on April 26, 1986. High levels of radiation mean humans may never live in them again. But these towns served another purpose for Ukrainian soldiers who recently traine...